Talk:Editorial cartoon
From Academic Kids
There is controversy as to the bias of editorial cartoons. A large majority of editorial cartoonists are left-wing, also there is not a single black editorial cartoonist writing for a major American paper.
What about The Boondocks (http://www.boondocks.net/), which runs in several major papers -- including, last I heard about it, the Washington Post? Like Doonesbury in many papers (though IIRC the Post runs Doonesbury in Style), it often runs in the comics section, but it is certainly unabashedly political. (It is also always amusing to read the letters to the editor written by folks who can't stand to see radical opinion in print.) --FOo 20:13, 4 Aug 2003 (UTC)
Comic strips are not generally considered editorial cartoons. Doonesbury is the exception to this, but even it enraged cartoonists when it won the Pullitzer Prize, most still do not consider it an editorial cartoon. (also Boondocks is syndicated and not written for any particular paper)- SimonP 20:29, Aug 4, 2003 (UTC)
- You're not being consistent. Either Doonesbury and The Boondocks are both editorial cartoons or they both aren't. They both are usually (but not always) heavy on political comment. But I agree they don't fit the typical mold of a standalone, usually one-panel illustration. Also, I think it should be pointed out in the article that editorial cartoons need not be humorous. In fact the most effective political cartoonists realize this and don't sacrifice message for humor. Look at the example provided, there is no humorous gag in the iconic "JOIN OR DIE" snake, it's just a powerful metaphor. By contrast, cartoons that consist of pure caricature for humorous effect while not having any strong message are, and probably should, be relegated to the trash heap of history. 68.162.81.209 14:05, 6 Aug 2004 (UTC)
- Belated reply to that unsupported POV comment: Editorial cartoonist John Slade of the Louisiana Weekly published a collection of his work under the title "But I Am Too a Black Cartoonist! Really!". Saying there's no such thing is just sloppy inaccuracy. -- Infrogmation 20:01, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)
This suffers from US-POV. We also need more on the early history of political cartoons. -- Tarquin 20:22, 4 Aug 2003 (UTC)
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- Presently there is an ongoing controversy as to the bias of editorial cartoons. A large majority of editorial cartoonists are left-wing, also there is not a single African-American editorial cartoonist writing for a major American paper.
I personally have never heard of this bias, nor does my personal experience bear it out; moreover, a couple of searches (lexis-nexis, google) revealed no really relevant content. If people can attribute this controversy, I'd be happy to have it back in.
However, the statement about African-Americans is wrong--Aaron McGruder (creator of The Boondocks) is black, and he's as much of an editorial cartoonist as Gary Trudeau.
I'd also like to note that this article is incredibly amerocentric.
